Title: Croda Dedicates Skin Care, Industrial R&D Centers

Croda Inc. announced the official opening and dedication of two new innovation centers at the Atlas Point manufacturing site in Newcastle, De., USA. The William C. Griffin Innovation Center will house industrial R&D laboratories, and the Atlas Point Commercial Center will focus on the company’s skin care innovation lab. By reclaiming and renovating buildings on the former SPI Polyols manufacturing site, Croda’s new facilities are state-of-the-art.

The William C. Griffin Innovation Center was named in honor of William Griffin, a longtime employee at the site and a significant contributor to the chemical industry as the inventor of the HLB system. This R&D facility will support innovation in the industrial markets of crop care, lubricants, oilfield, coatings and polymer additives. The Atlas Point Commercial Center will support skin care product concepts for the personal care industry, as well as office space for Croda's industrial sales team.

"Investments, such as these, in the Atlas Point manufacturing site will only allow Croda to be more competitive in the marketplace and further support our standing as a world class supplier of quality chemical specialties," said Kevin Gallagher, president of Croda Inc., in a press announcement. "The investments will improve efficiency, safety and innovation as these new research spaces house some of the most state-of-the-art equipment in our organization--equipment that allows us to synthesize and test the next generation of Croda's innovative new products."

A building dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Oct. 23, 2008, followed by a customer luncheon and concluding with tours of the new facilities and plant. The completion of the renovations in these two buildings brings Croda's investment in the manufacturing site to US $20 milliion since its appropriation of the facility through the acquisition of Uniqema from ICI in 2006. Additional capital expenditures at the plant are expected over the next 10 years to allow the site to become a world class manufacturing facility.

"Today's event is but the beginning for Atlas Point and its future," stated Gallagher, in a press announcement. "The site was opened in 1937 as part of the Atlas Powder and has a long history since those early days. … We expect to see great works come from these new facilities that will only further enhance the value we can contribute to our customers' brands."